Inaugurating The Solar Panel Factory Worth IDR 1.5 Trillion In Kendal, Minister Of Industry Agus Gumiwang: Efforts To Support EBT

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (central) signed an inscription at the Grand Opening Factory Solar Panel PT airing Mas Agra Indonesia (TMAI) in the Kendal Special Economic Zone (KEK), Central Java. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Industry)

JAKARTA - Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita inaugurated the opening of the solar cell factory and the largest solar panel in Indonesia owned by PT totaling Mas Agra Indonesia (TMAI) in the Kendal Industrial Estate, Central Java (Central Java), Thursday, June 19.

The investment value for the construction of the factory has reached more than IDR 1.5 trillion and has absorbed 640 workers.

Agus assessed that the existence of an integrated factory between the production of solar diesel cells and solar panels in one location is one of the efforts to form an ecosystem for the new and renewable energy support industry (EBT).

"I am very happy because finally the integrated solar panel factory PT TMAI will start operating with a capacity of 1 GW per year," Agus said in his official statement, Thursday, June 19.

"We also really appreciate the strategic steps taken by PT TMAI to produce solar panels with the latest i-Topcon technology with an efficiency of up to 23 percent capable of producing per solar panel unit with a maximum output capacity of 720 watt-peak," he added.

Having a capacity of 1 GW-peak per year, PT TMAI will produce around 1.4 million solar panels per year.

"This means that our dependence on importing solar modules and cells from China, Malaysia or Vietnam is expected to decrease significantly," he said.

In addition, Agus also highlighted the importance of downstreaming silica sand, namely the main raw material for solar panels.

He said, RI has a silica sand reserve of more than 330 million tons with a potential of 25 billion tons spread across various regions.

According to him, the added value of silica sand processed into wafers can reach 25 times, so that the development of industrial supply chains from upstream to downstream is a priority going forward.

"With the investment made by PT TMAI, it will certainly encourage the formation of a domestic solar panel industry ecosystem as well as the acceleration of downstreaming in the form of absorption of domestic solar cell products so that later the development of wafer products, ingots and polylicon smelters," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy President Director of PT TMAI Lokita Prasetya said that the TMAI solar cell and module factory is an integrated solar cell and module factory in Indonesia which is currently capable of producing up to 1 GW, making it the largest solar panel factory in Indonesia.

The solar cell and module factory can also produce one of the largest solar panels in the world.

"The presence of TMAI is expected to have a positive impact on the realization of clean energy in Indonesia and help reduce dependence on imports of energy industry components in Indonesia," he concluded.